Gate alum

FORDHAM NOT FULL MEMBER # 10--BUT WITHIN THE LONG TERM RADAR

[QUOTE=indianhoop;6900014]Fordham isn't rejoining the PL in hoop anytime soon. Maybe, maybe 5-10 years down the road but they've invested too much in being in the A-10 for the time being.

NortheastPLFan:
Fordham won't happen in all sports. I'd love to see it but why would they leave the A-10?

B.U. joining the Patriot League has created some remorse for Fordham alums. It's not the same P.L. they left for fame and fortune in the A-10. The uncertainty about their new A.D. and realization that being the doormat in the A-10 is counter-productive gets clearly reflected in this thread from their sports board. They're sinking 650m/yr. into bball coach Pecaro. So that pre-empts any moves back to the P.L. anytime soon, before his contract expires. But, its clearly on the radar screen if Pecaro can't deliver, the embarassment becomes unbearable and the A-10 dream fades.

http://fordhamfans.smfforfree.com/in...ic,5549.0.html

iamsirjoshua

I'm not sure how much remorse that thread shows - for the most part, it seemed to culminate in some conspiracy theories around some administrators they're not fond of. Gate_alum, you did bring up some good points from early on in the thread, but there was also a lot of "if we rejoined the Patriot League I will sever all ties with Fordham because it will kill our basketball program." Interesting to hear when contrasted to paying a coach $700k a year to be dead last in the A10 - and they've been the conference's doormat for something like 17 years, so this isn't a new phenomenon. Anyway, the point of this is not the quality of Fordham hoops in the A10. I definitely do think they're a candidate down the road but not immediately.

It was interesting how much they advocated on that thread for Loyola (MD), which is a school whom I think would make a great 10th member, although there would probably be some belly-aching about its academic chops (which I don't see as a problem, it's a fine school in my eyes that wouldn't have a problem adjusting to the AI). Location-wise it's a great rivalry for Navy and AU, and its Jesuit identity would be popular with HC I'm sure. Their strong basketball team and national championship in lacrosse certainly help make the case as well. Biggest hit? No football, which may be the deciding factor in a 10th candidate.

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NortheastPLFan

Outside of W&M and now the rumored UNH there are very few candidates in all sports including football. It's really difficult to identify those possibilities.

Put me in the Loyola camp. I think they'd make for an interesting addition. I believe their president was at Holy Cross too before going to Baltimore, so there are ties and familiarity.

I'm also am outlier in that I could see maybe UVM being interested in the Patriot if UNH went for all sports too.

Seth

I think Loyola is particularly attractive if the league is trying to improve the MLax footprint. I'm sure that's one of the things that made BU attractive.

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BucBisonAtLarge

The Patriot League did not need Boston University to shore up its MLax cred... Please stop saying this was some critical factor. The PL was already doing fine, had a lot of TV exposure and success this past season. Lucky Terriers, putting their start-up squad into a conference that had five teams in the top-25 in 2012... strap in for a very steep slope.

iamsirjoshua

Not a terrible problem to have, I wish AU was in that position. Myself (and many others here) would love a MLax team at AU. That's one of the reasons why I really like Loyola as a 10th candidate, with them and BU coming into the conference, it could theoretically push AU to invest in MLax as well.

OK, in reality, probably not, but I like to dream...

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All hail the mighty AU Eagles

BucBisonAtLarge

Title IX is not just about scholarships but also about actual roster slots for participation, being proportion to the student population. I suspect their lack of a Mlax program may have more to do with the presence of a great wrestling program and the gender balance on campus.

iamsirjoshua

BucBison, you're probably right. I've heard it mentioned that about a decade ago, we had considered cutting wrestling before some big donors stepped up and saved the program, and MLax had been considered as a replacement program. Now that the wrestling team has found a lot of success, it is now fully-funded scholarship wise and is in no danger of being cut (nor would I want it to be). Not sure if adding a MLax program with wrestling still in existence would put us in violation of Title IX, but as far as major sports go it's the one we could best support with minor upgrades to current facilities. No football stadium or baseball diamond puts those sports a bit out of reach. As basketball and wrestling are our only "signature" programs (moreso basketball) and are both winter sports, there's not a lot to watch in the fall/spring. MLax would help solve that, even if it took some time to catch up to speed with the rest of the PL. Fact is, we're in a great lax conference and the sport is huge in the mid-atlantic/northeast, where we do most of our recruiting, and is growing on the west coast, which is the next biggest feeder region for the school. Still, the funding is probably not there at the moment, as outside of facilities upgrades it's still a big investment to start a new team regardless of the sport. My hope would be that BU's addition of the program, and the potential addition of a huge lax school like Loyola might create a motivation within the athletic department to compete in that sport.

The question is: are there any big lax schools with football that meet the PL profile? Marist possibly?

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NortheastPLFan

Exactly the question the Patriot is facing right now, though football way more a priority than lax.

Rhett1

It probably was a critical factor. Do you think the PL would have added a program that did not have a fully funded lax program in their short term plans? I don't think the PL needed BU lax, so much as BU needed lax to enter into serious PL consideration.

TerrierNation

Could be wrong, but I think he is saying the PL didn't need BU lacrosse to help its credibility. Kind of stating the obvious though seeing as we haven't even played a game yet

BucBisonAtLarge

Yes, I can imagine them adding someone without lacrosse- American comes to mind. Adding lacrosse made Boston University that much more attractive to the conference but the sport is not critical to league... anything. Navy stayed independent for years before beginning to play in the conference. Lacrosse is intensely regional, though growing fast, faster in more affluent communities. The Big Ten is justing adding hockey, for pete's sake...

TerrierNation

If the Patriot League is as deliberate and careful as I've heard, I just can't see them making any moves in the near term. As others have said, the public schools present challenges while most of the private schools are unavailable or not the right fit.

I'm betting they just wait another couple of years and deal with the scheduling issues as they come. That's what I would do, although it is up to the member schools

BucBisonAtLarge

I would not expect any news on a football program until that squad completed the season,

Gate alum

The significant changes already in motion in the P.L. should motivate the League to avoid any hasty expansion decisions:
( a. ) stewarding the fb schollies/scheduling changes, ( b. ) integrating B.U. and ( c. ) positioning the 2012-13 extension of the P.L. performance breakout. If these all evolve successfully, then time is certainly on the P.L.’s side in the expansion game. The emergence of B.U. “out of the blue” would indicate that expansion discussions are always going on. But, continuing to strengthen the League will best position it for these and any new opportunities that surface from realignment.

On the football side, only a precipitous bolt by Georgetown or someone else would necessitate a faster expansion decision to provide a buffer for A.Q. bid eligibility. Although it will take several years for the impact of fb schollies to manifest in performance, the upgrading in scheduling starting in 2013 is a sign that the effort to raise the fcs fb profile is already underway.

The addition of B.U.’s teams to the P.L. will strengthen the P.L.’s competitiveness in many sports. This, coupled with the benefits of P.L. membership to B.U. will bring attention to the positive trajectory of the League.

From what we know now, 2012-13 promises to be another breakout year for the P.l., at least in bball and mlax...possibly more ?
In the eyes of expansion candidates, the anticipation of continuing stability and positive 'mo' in the P.L. provides an additional incentive for moving.

No need to make any hasty decisions. Time is on the P.L.'s side.